Like this:

These are wonderful Indian snacks. There are many variations of these, both veg and non-veg. In West Bengal you can always find a “hole in the wall” or a mobile stall cooking and selling different versions of “Chop”, yes..we call these “Chop”. I’m not sure what you’ll call these, but you can always try one and you will not regret, I am sure. Of course in these “chop shops” the hygiene and ingredients used are questionable, though I never got sick even after consuming many of them!

I am so fond of these, that in order to prevent me from eating those unhygienic ones, my mother used to cook chops at home, and to me they are even tastier!

These chops are generally deep-fried, so when I am cooking I thought of making them healthier too. So instead of deep frying, I baked them, and trust me – they were really delicious!

First boil the whole potatoes so that they can be mashed easily. After draining the hot water keep the whole boiled potatoes for cooling and drying. After they are dry, peel them and take in a big bowl

In that bowl add chopped green chillies, chopped coriander leaves, salt, red chilli powder/flakes, cumin powder, chopped onion and mash them very well. Please make sure that they make a good tight shape if you try to make one with your palm, this is the main part of cooking chop, if the shape break or is unstable then it will not make a good chop. You can leave the mash in refrigerator for a while to get the perfect tightness. Take a look at the picture provided (ref Picture 1)

Now to make egg chop, you need to take one half of one egg in one of your palm and take a handful of the mash in another hand and give it a half-egg shape to fit in the half egg that you holding in one of your palm. Please take a look at the picture for a clear understanding (ref Picture 2)

To make simple potato chop, you just need to take a handful mash and shape it like given in the picture (Picture 3)

In a small bowl take 3 tbsp of cornflour, 1 egg and 2 tsp cooking oil and beat them very well to make a runny paste like shown in the picture (ref Picture 4). It should not be too tight or too runny

Spread the breadcrumb in a tray

Take one chop in your hand and dip it into the cornflour mixture to cover it’s all sides. Then roll it over the breadcrumb very well so that they cover all the sides of the chop. Then again you dip it into cornflour mixture and again roll over the breadcrumb to get a solid cover for the chop. You can do this “dip-and-roll-over” thing once, if you think the coating is enough. Repeat this process for the rest of the chops

Now pre-heat oven to 180 °C/350 °F. In a baking tray put the chops in rows and bake for 40 minutes or until they become golden brown. Turn them over from time to time in order to bake all the sides very well

You can always experiment with chop using your creative mind, adding this or that and such things!